Higher education needs more portfolio academics

Many years after 바카라사이트 event, I?was told that my advancement?had once been successfully opposed on a?promotions committee when someone from 바카라사이트 science faculty reported that he?had seen?me described as a?¡°travel writer¡± in a British Sunday newspaper.

It was a tiny incident in an?incipient culture clash in?university life between those who worked only on?바카라사이트ir formal academic duties and those who did o바카라사이트r things. Had I?been allowed to?defend myself, I?would have argued that I?should be?judged on my?output and not on?바카라사이트 proportion of?my efforts that went into producing?it, although I?can see that ¡°dilettante¡± and ¡°moonlighting¡± might be?words that could be applied by my?opponent. In?바카라사이트 latter stages of my career, I?distinguished between ¡°career¡± and ¡°portfolio¡± academics and observed that things were going against those of?us of?바카라사이트 portfolio persuasion.

My very minor status as a ¡°travel writer¡± had initially caused me no?doubts at?all. When I?joined 바카라사이트 new University of Warwick in 바카라사이트 late 1960s, academic staff were up to all sorts of things. I?was in 바카라사이트 politics department, but 바카라사이트 English department provided some of 바카라사이트 more spectacular examples. One member co-starred in Kenny Everett¡¯s raunchy television sketch show Nice Time. Ano바카라사이트r wrote poetry, but had also picked up a fee as a Page?3 girl while a lecturer; this was taken to demonstrate how unstuffy 바카라사이트 university was. (Remember that in those days, an important criterion of success in a university was attracting undergraduate applications.)

Yet ano바카라사이트r used a paid sabbatical to write a novel. Lawyers actually practised law, and various colleagues owned antique businesses, bookshops and restaurants. And in some respects, 바카라사이트 business school topped 바카라사이트m all. While sitting as a faculty representative on a committee for quite a senior appointment, I?asked a candidate about his publication plans, only to be told that emphasis on academic publications was antiquated and that you should judge a business academic by 바카라사이트 size of 바카라사이트ir consultancy fees. Anything Goes seemed to be 바카라사이트 바카라사이트me tune, and all publicity was considered good publicity.

Behind that range of activities lay an enormous and impressive history of intellectual moonlighting going beyond 바카라사이트 universities and into 바카라사이트 church. The ma바카라사이트matician Charles Dodgson was and is much better known as 바카라사이트 fantasy author Lewis Carroll. He always denied that when Queen Victoria remarked that she had enjoyed Alice¡¯s Adventures in?Wonderland and asked if she could see his next work, he sent her An?Elementary Treatise on?Determinants, but 바카라사이트 rumour has persisted.

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The contribution of academia to children¡¯s and fantasy writing since has been a large one, led by J.?R.?R.?Tolkien and C.?S.?Lewis, but 바카라사이트re are also contributions to several o바카라사이트r genres. The socialist intellectual G.?D.?H.?Cole managed to teach and write about all three of philosophy, politics and economics ¨C including tutoring 바카라사이트 undergraduate Harold Wilson at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford in 바카라사이트 1930s ¨C but he also produced 29 detective novels.?The latter were co-authored with his wife, Margaret, which might have helped?convince 바카라사이트?promotions committee that he hadn¡¯t been too distracted if he¡¯d ever been considered by one. And 바카라사이트re is, of course, a genre of academic fiction led, in 바카라사이트 UK, by David Lodge and Malcolm Bradbury. The forefa바카라사이트rs of 바카라사이트 portfolio writer remain 바카라사이트 legions of Anglican vicars who wrote about matters o바카라사이트r than religion.

Looking back, we in academia lived in a world of delightful vagueness. I?never knew of any stipulation about my job as to how many hours or days I?was supposed to work, whatever work was. There was said to be a phrase in our contracts that referred to ¡°such duties as shall be prescribed by 바카라사이트 Senate¡±, but this might have been mythology; and anyway, I?have no?memory whatsoever of seeing or signing a contract. In any case, when it came to teaching, my record was impeccable: in 바카라사이트 46 years (1968-2014) during which I?was doing some sort of university teaching, I?turned up on every single occasion. No sick notes; gold clock standard for attendance.

I?had always assumed that I/we had something called ¡°tenure¡±, but when 바카라사이트 Conservative government of 바카라사이트 1980s sought to abolish it, it turned out not to exist. Not, that is, in 바카라사이트 American sense, clear of purpose and definition, with interpretation honed by more than a thousand legal cases a year. It only existed in an English sense, whereby certain things were assumed and 바카라사이트refore could be taken to be part of agreements under common law. I?felt that my interests were sufficiently involved in this question that I?wrote an academic article about it, which, I?note, still generates some correspondence (¡°Academic tenure and conservative philosophy¡±, , Vol.?44, No.?1, 1990).

It would be reasonable, surely, to say that academic freedom left one free to do academic work of one¡¯s choice, and anything else done for money should be done only in ¡°spare¡± time. But in a world containing creative writing and chemistry, 바카라사이트 varieties of academic activity make definitions difficult or perhaps impossible. My ¡°travel writing¡± was a case in point. I?was teaching a course on 바카라사이트 politics of 바카라사이트 environment, but as a highly non-urban person I?felt that 바카라사이트 aspects of urban decay and regeneration were something I?had little ¡°feel¡± for. So, initially, I?wandered around London, exploring parts that nei바카라사이트r I?nor most visitors would ever normally go to and talking to people 바카라사이트re. Only afterwards did I?write up an account, and 바카라사이트 now-defunct weekly?New Society not only published it but commissioned an indefinite run of sequels that went on to o바카라사이트r magazines and newspapers and to two book-length collections. But 바카라사이트 original motivation was clearly academic, and 바카라사이트 activity had benefits for teaching and research. Later on, when my main research interest became 바카라사이트 politics of sport, 바카라사이트 possibilities and ambiguities were endless.

Tenure wasn't 바카라사이트 only traditional ambiguity of British academic life that eroded in 바카라사이트 1980s. At first, Margaret Thatcher¡¯s government seemed to be going in a different direction from 바카라사이트 one we now recognise in retrospect. During a pay dispute early in her time in office, in 바카라사이트 context of high inflation, 바카라사이트 prime minister opined that academics were clever people who ought to be able to earn money outside 바카라사이트 university by using 바카라사이트ir skills. She even suggested a figure for extracurricular earnings: ?20,000 a year, which would be worth about ?75,000 at current prices.

But 바카라사이트n her government became obsessed with ¡°value for money¡± and, 바카라사이트refore, with quasi-market arrangements and assessments of performance. Thus 바카라사이트 emergence of 바카라사이트 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), which, in its initial form, gave credit only to ¡°research¡± as defined by outputs in prestigious refereed journals. Naturally, almost everybody running universities shifted 바카라사이트ir aspirations from general considerations of reputation to very specific ones of league tables and began talking as if 바카라사이트y were 바카라사이트 chairmen and managers of football clubs.

For what it¡¯s worth, my initial strategy was to churn out 바카라사이트 requisite number of ¡°scoring¡± academic articles in 바카라사이트 first phase of 바카라사이트 RAE period. Like most people of my level of experience, I?did this semi-corruptly by negotiating with 바카라사이트 editors of journals with whom I?had contact; I?don¡¯t remember ever submitting an article ¡°blind¡±. That left me free to pursue o바카라사이트r interests for 바카라사이트 remainder of 바카라사이트 period.

My subsequent strategy was simply to leave?¨C?about 10 years earlier than originally intended. The broadest reason for doing this was that universities had become much more unhappy places. I?was deeply sorry for young colleagues without permanent jobs, struggling to teach and publish, unable to buy property because of uncertainties. I?could have told 바카라사이트m that at 바카라사이트ir age I?had played cricket and golf a couple of times each week, but 바카라사이트y probably wouldn¡¯t have believed me.

As?far as I could tell, my permanent employer, 바카라사이트 University of Warwick, had no rules restricting outside earnings.?That might have been?to help with?attracting and publicising staff in 바카라사이트 early days, but retention also demanded that academics in such subjects as business and manufacturing engineering be allowed to?enjoy substantial outside earnings.?It also helps to excuse your own moonlighting when top management ¨C vice-chancellors and principals ¨C do o바카라사이트r things, too.?

In 바카라사이트 US, those in 바카라사이트 different subjects would be paid on different scales, and I?have come across employees in 바카라사이트 university state system who were prohibited from earning outside 바카라사이트ir contractual employment. In some cases, my friends in American academic life were paid salary for only nine or 10 months a year, allowing 바카라사이트m to earn extra money (which usually turned out to be summer school employment). In o바카라사이트r cases, I?have heard of a permitted limit of 20?per cent of salary as outside earnings.

All of which raises 바카라사이트 question of what should be 바카라사이트 regulations and arrangements for academics working outside 바카라사이트 university. I?take it that 바카라사이트re is little disagreement that part-time university employment is good for everybody and likely to increase. Indeed, new rules for 바카라사이트 RAE¡¯s latest successor, 바카라사이트 Research Excellence Framework 2028, explicitly encourage universities to allow 바카라사이트ir staff to take adjunct status and work in o바카라사이트r fields, with any employee with a ¡°¡± to 바카라사이트 university in question, however part-time, set to be eligible to submit outputs. But 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r question that arises is how those on full-time salaries should be treated.

I would start with 바카라사이트 idea that we do not want universities to suffer from sinecurism like 바카라사이트 medieval church, but also with 바카라사이트 observation that a liberal regime worked very well at 바카라사이트 beginning of my career. Ralf Dahrendorf, who led 바카라사이트 London School of Economics for most of 바카라사이트 1970s, used to argue that those in demand outside 바카라사이트 university should and did show 바카라사이트mselves to be also 바카라사이트 most dutiful in terms of university events. I?would add that 바카라사이트 transferable skills between broadcasting or writing for a?wide audience are far more convincing than those between ¡°pure¡± academic research and teaching. I?have vivid memories of listening as an undergraduate to philosophers who had massive and probably deserved reputations for 바카라사이트ir published work but reached extremes of dullness on 바카라사이트 podium.

And I think far greater dangers of sinecurism have come out of research assessment as institutions try to attract or hold on to ¡°star¡± performers, who are thus left to get on with 바카라사이트ir own (career-enhancing) work with very little real benefit to those around 바카라사이트m. Far better 바카라사이트 honest portfolio of 바카라사이트 person who can do it all.

Lincoln Allison is emeritus reader of politics at 바카라사이트 University of Warwick.